This application relates to a graphic tape slicer, and more particularly to a graphic tape slicer that automatically cuts graphic tape at either an oblique angle or in a straight line.
Graphic tape with an adhesive backing has been used for many years to decorate and enhance the visual beauty of many products. It has become popular to apply graphic tape to the metal exterior of vehicles, including passenger cars, pickup trucks and vans. Initially, the craftsman would lay the graphic tape out on a table and cut the graphic tape by hand to the size and shape necessary to produce the design.
Recently, graphic tape slicers have begun to appear. A product known as the Universal slitter uses a clear, plastic rectangular guide through which the graphic tape to be sliced is pulled. The craftsman holds a razor blade or other cutting implement in a guide opening with one hand while pulling the graphic tape with the other hand.
Another graphic tape slicer is made by Sharpline Converting Inc. and is sold under the product name Exactatrim. This device has a holder that supports a roll of graphic tape. A cutting implement, such as a razor blade, is disposed on the edge of the holder and the position of the blade is set using a thumb screw. The graphic tape is then pulled through the cutting area to effect the cut. A second knife is provided to make two cuts at once.
Yet another model is made by Exciters Graphic Design, the model sold under the name Slit-er. This model rests horizontally on a flat surface. A graphic tape guide is provided that uses one or two blades to make single or double cuts. The width of the cuts is adjustable.
Finally, a product known as the Accu-Slitter.TM., made by Arlon, has a cutting blade mounted in a frame. The cutting blade is adjustable for varying width cuts and a separate guide member is utilized to accommodate different sizes of graphic tapes.
One of the disadvantages of these devices is that only straight cuts can be made. In order to do the most creative and artistic designs that the consumer is currently demanding, it is often necessary to cut the graphic tape at an oblique angle or along a diagonal to create tapers in the tape.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a graphic tape slicer that will cut tape at an oblique angle, preferably in either direction or in alternating directions. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a graphic tape slicer that can also be used to make straight cuts.
It is a feature of the present invention that a graphic tape slicer is provided with a cutting blade that is mounted on a screw thread so that the action of the graphic tape being pulled through the slicer effects a traveling action of the blade across the width of the graphic tape to produce a tape cut at an oblique angle. The graphic tape slicer can also be adjusted to disengage the traveling action of the blade to permit straight cuts to be made.
It is an advantage of the present invention that graphic tape can be cut in either a straight line, at an oblique angle, at an opposite oblique angle, in alternating oblique angles or in combinations of oblique angles and straight lines thereby permitting the craftsman to achieve a multitude of creative and artistic designs.